6' 8, 8 1/2, can do it all. i mean when i say do it all and do it gracefully. i mean with the greatest of ease. >> benji will, so his game and personality were -- wilson, his game and personality were electric, a future star in the nba until one morning when everything changed. get an inside glimpse at the man the nfl mayors have chosen to lead them in -- players have chosen to lead them in the fighnewtive rgaient. 'll uce emar ith. >> t our stin

>> and a truy th abou inws tvie' hello and welcome to this edition of net impact. we've seen nfl commissioner roger goodell and nfl players association executive director demaris smith exchanging pleasantries through the media and have even been in front of congress as the two sides attempt a collective bargaining agreement and as they do so the atmosphere will get more tense. we know goodell he's within on the job three years now but who

is this man that the players have chosen to be their voice in this turbulent time? here's comcast sportsnet's mid- atlantic's jill sorenson. >> for our last practice we could play head coach. >> yea! >> we do head coach. >> reporter: this is fun for demaris smith the executive director of the nfl players association by day and a coach for his 10-year-old son allen and his baseball team in silver vince, maryland, by night. >> tag -- in silver springs, maryland, by night. >> tag him! >> reporter: the intensity and passion you see here is smith's day job as union smith named the successor to the late and edge legendary gene upshaw in march, the man everyone calls dean has not slowed down. >> i've been on the job six months. i've probably been on the road three and a half, four months solid. >> reporter: he was seen as an outsider to get the job with former players as the front

runners. his background as a trial lawyer was far from the experience of an nfl player. >> i definitely think that's a positive that he was an outsider, you know, guy coming in, he doesn't have all the connections or, you know, any preconceived notions of what was happening before and, you know, can he come in and kind of look at things clearly. >> i'm very confident. i'm confident, that you know, he can get things done, whatever that may be. he's presented himself in such a way and i think he's broken it down to the players in such a way that we can understand it. >> reporter: as much as he's an outsider d. is a d.c. insider having grown up a stone's throw from fedex field. >> you come out of the room in d.c. and get smacked and then you're injected with burgundy and gold. >> reporter: on his resume counsel to then deputy attorney general eric holder and he also served on president obama's transition team. >> business worldwide in some way, shape or form always touches washington. it's one heck of a sports town.

so yeah, those are things that are inextricably tied to who i am. does it affect what i do? probably. but hopefully affects it for the better. >> reporter: with the possible lockout on the horizon demorris smith has made it a priority to visit each team to help them understand the process. >> this was in one of the file drawers in our office and it slowly but surely i'm going through every drawer, every cabinet. >> reporter: why? >> a great deal of our history on what we have done internally to be a stronger union is there. the one thing i'm blessed about is gene was an incredible note taker. here on the back he'd clearly written out in longhand a speech that i don't know whether he gave or was going to give, but the most interesting part at the bottom is you see it in quotes, the nfl has always been willing to take a short loss for a long term gain. >> reporter: in the midst of negotiations or perhaps because

of them d. and the union have made national headlines on a regular basis. >> as executive director, my no. 1 priority is to protect those who play and have played this game. to me it is probably a little bit of a combination of half negotiation, half trial lawyer. i mean both of those things are things that are in my dna for some way, shape or form. i think about my grandfather in the pulpit. there's probably a little bit of that, too. as a result, i'm really not afraid of my question. i want guys to be actively involved. truth be told, i probably lean on them in a very hard way, but this is their union. it's not my union. it's their union. >> reporter: always in the line of fire demorris smith is used to the heat. >> i thought that was a -- 17-year-old ben benji wilson was a rising star, a

young basketball phenom with a definite nba future. in fact, in 1984 wilson was the no. 1 ranked high school basketball player in the nation. he'd been described as a magic johnson with a jump shot and kevin garnett with a better handle of the ball and a better perimeter game. luke stuckmeyer of comcast sportsnet chicago shows us wilson's wizardry on the court. >> reporter: chicago may be a football town and baseball crazy in summertime, but at its core in the city basketball is a way of life. we're not just talking about the m.j. glory days. we're talking about the kids who built their games here like isiah thomas on the west side and more recently dwayne wade and derrick rose on the south side, but 25 years ago somebody else owned these courts in chicago, a skinny silky kid with a smile named benji. >> and center for the wolverines a junior, 6' 7, no.

25 ben wilson. >> if you haven't seen him, you're in for a treat, 20 a game. >> i would go and i want to be successful and i do what it takes to be successful and that is when i go home i study and do my work and go to class. >> kind of corny stuff. >> well, it works. >> reporter: everything seemed to work for benjamin wilson, but especially basketball. >> wilson two. >> reporter: born and raised on the city's south side, he was the middle of five brothers and it wasn't long before that orange rock was the fiber of his life. >> looked like bruce lee with two basketballs. he approached the basketball hoops. just unbelievable what he could do with that ball three fingers pawning the ball like this. >> reporter: and with ben and his ball around the wilson's neighbors were always up early.

>> the neighbors used to be furious about being woke up in the morning because he was always dribbling the basketball and one of the next-door neighbors mr. robertson said benji was the alarm clock to get him up and go to work in the morning. >> reporter: by 16 wilson could still play like a point guard but now he soared like an eagle with his new 7' 3 wingspan. >> bankston drops it down to wilson for a turnaround. >> we used to imitate ben when he shoots his jump shot. it was like he'll shoot it and then put his wrist back like this and run down the court but everybody used to emulate him in high school. that's how big he was in high school. >> reporter: and everybody wanted to be around him. benji's game and personality drew in friends and admirers from all over including the nba. >> ben wilson steps in, scores.

>> 6' 8, 8 1/2, can do it all. i mean when i say do it all and do it gracefully. i mean with the greatest of ease. i mean and it looks so pretty when he was doing it. i mean it was smooth. it was silky. it was just you had to -- he had that camera that captured that moment. i mean he was that type of player. >> wilson slide down the lane. >> reporter: as a junior he was a starter on a lineup full of seniors. benji was third team all state and the wolverines went 30-1 for the 2a state title. that put simeon on the map. >> i think he helped push simeon into a more global nationwide type school, basketball power.

i remember our senior year, you know, we thought we were world beaters, we could go anywhere and play anybody any time. >> reporter: after winning the state championship in the spring of 1984 ben kept improving stunning scouts at the nike all american camp. he left as the first kid from illinois to ever be ranked as a no. 1 player in the entire country. >> he was clearly, clearly benjamin wilson was the no. 1 player in the country. no one came close. >> reporter: ahead how benji wilson's life changed in less than a second. >> ben's thumb was rising and then at midday. >> reporter: a horrific crime on these streets in chicago is remembered 25 years later.

benji wilson's future seemed secure. just a few years in college before fame and wealth would schuler follow in the nba -- would surely follow in the nba, but it wasn't meant to be. instead there was a tragic turn of events and now 25 years later benji wilson has never been forgotten. let's get back to his story. >> reporter: ben wilson had it all, sizzling basketball skills and an electric personality, but on november 20th, 1984, it was a gray cold fall day a on the like this one and on vinsenz avenue right in front of simeon high school the day was about to get even darker. >> the old guys, they've served their times and lived their lives, when the sun is eclipsed or the sun is rising it's so different. ben's sun was rising moving

towards midday and then it became midnight at midday. >> reporter: at 12:37 on november 20th ben wilson was walking with his girl friend and mother of his 10-week-old son brandon. they were a block from the school. he liked to gather at a small store around lunchtime but benji bumped into two freshmen from calumet high school on the sidewalk. they pulled out a .22 caliber handgun and shot him twice, one bullet piercing his aorta and the other tearing a hole in his liver. >> to this day i still don't know the story. i've never tried to seek out the story because the only person that could tell is and while the chaos continued

at simeon benji's brothers were miles away with a sibling connection that still haunts them. >> i was in library class and i heard somebody say i got shot. i got shot. i was in library class and i was like i'm going crazy, but then i thought about cain and abel when cain slew his brother and the most high said where's your brother? i heard his blood cry from the earth. right there something let me know that he got shot. >> and as a matter of fact, i had a dream two nights in a row before he died, somebody or something tried to tell me, had a dream that night benji was dead. next day i had a dream benji was dead. at that moment i heard my brother's voice say i got shoot

just like i said to you there, came to me like. so this was something there and i was like what the hell's going on here? my mama always say you want the most high to talk to you, you got to be in a quiet place and i was in the library class at the time my brother was shot and i heard him. when i found out, i went be serk. >> fo ery as a

we seen ben on the floor by himself. that's what brothers do. him. we had to see him and we knew he was gone. >> reporter: early the next morning the day his senior season was supposed to start ben wilson was pronounced dead at the age of just 17. even president ronald reagan called the family to offer h

is dead. >> involved in extraordinary young man. >> he was gunned down. >> it's not how long you live. but how well you live. >> then i seen my brother in that casket. oh, tried to wake him up like man, you ain't dead. get up, man. get up. get up. you ain't dead. get up. then seeing those two guys who did it.

>> did you know ben wilson? did you know him? >> reporter: after the shooting cousins billy moore and omar dixon were taken into custody charged with murder and attempted robbery. moore was later sentenced to 40 years for pulling the trigger and dixon 30 years as his accomplice. on the day that benji died his simeon teammates decided to play their first game of the season without no. 25. earlier in the day students sobbed at simeon simply overwhelmed with grief, but benji's mother stood tall in the gymnasium. >> so today i speak in love of all of you who keep benji's memory and dignity and be

strength v and strength and love alive -- strength and love alive. >> reporter: the wake was held on the gymnasium floor and 8,000 people came to see benji lying in his no. 25 jersey. the line stretched blocks outside of the school, mourners waited seven hours. >> i still have dreams about him like, you know, he came back and he was able to play again, but just dreams. >> sometimes i sit down and, you know, when i'm going through things, you know, i speak, you know, just like i would to my grandparents, you know. hey, benji, how you doing, that type of thing. i just can't forget about him.

this is very emotional. >> reporter: still an emotional story 25 years later. there are some updates to this story. at the time of his murder benji wilson left behind a 10-week- old son named brandon. well, brandon would go on to become a talented high school prep basketball player himself. even played some college basketball at the university of maryland eastern shore but he would leave after his sophomore season according to a school official and as for the two young men convicted of this horrific crime, william moore is still in federal prison for wilson's murder and omar dixon would tack on additional charms when he was arrested for

aggravate -- charges when he was arrested for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in a separate attempted murder case. let's move on. next summer south africa will play host to the 2010fifa world cup but it was back in 1995 when they hosted another world cup that changed the country, a game of rugby that united 42 million south africans. now clint eastwood's new movie in vic us brings this amazing true -- invictus brings this amazing true story to life and sat down with matt damon is yuntr rep on ma ond sporth r tochan wor >> l s ouiny. rep onat inciple that the movie

invictus was born. obviously you're a big sports fan yourself. what did sports do you think has the ability to unite people like the way we saw in this movie? >> weah, spare iqued ted o ite and ela was actually quoted as saying that. i guess there's something about getting, you know, 60,000 people in a space together g fotly sa thou kople ss tcoun caion peooss the . s cawas thiste >> b me paect faces the daunting task of a vide

h afogetin the wake of apartheid. what struck you about this story that made you so interested in wanting to do it? >> that it was true. i couldn't believe it when i read it and i called clint and i said i can't believe this stor ther fo as hand th wad thint make no e. leas pre, it kes teso me repomandout th of e taint rugby team. francois is a pretty big guy. how did you get ady ay >>gr

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and bad offensive lineman in the nfl but what are his keys to success off the field?

take a look at san francisco 49er eric heitmann and you'd never know that off the field he's a pianoman. here's comcast sportsnet's bay area's brody brazil to show us. >> reporter: this is the side of eric heitmann people know, an offensive lineman for the 49ers since 2002. and this is the side most would never expect, at 6' 3 315

pounds he's got the frame of a football behemoth with the hands of a beethoven. >> my mom made me take lessons about 10, 11 years growing up as a kid. right around when i started playing football, football became more of a focus for me and piano you put on the back burner a little bit. it was always secondary for me, always a hobby but something that i always kept up. >> reporter: inside his home today heitmann employs both a piano and keyboard setup inner it connected with the apple program garage band. it is here where the stanford graduate composes his best work in the form of cinematic sound scapes. >> my style is more of a movie classical theme sounding stuff i guess i would characterize it. >> so dramatic it plays well essentially. it's dynamic. >> yeah. i'd like to think that. you guys can be the judge. >> reporter: while football is the profession and composition is the passion, it's the music that gives eric an escape from

life when he needs it. >> i'll be home sunday night or after a big game and maybe there's something you need to crank out on the piano to kind of relieve some emotions or something. i use it as an escape. it's a good way to kind of release frustration or whatever emotions you're feeling at the time. it's something i've done for so long, you know, i've played for so long i don't ever really want to let it go at this point. i enjoy playing and i'm going to keep doing it as long as i can. >> reporter: it's only natural to expect eric's musical endeavors will outlast his football career, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's planning for a future behind the keyboard. >> you never know. we'll see at some point maybe if there's something you can put out there. i'd love to get in a recording studio at some point, maybe not for profit, just something i could show my kids at some point. i'll continue to do this for as long as i can. >> reporter: brody brazil, comcast sportsnet.

>> he's pretty good. his team's not doing bad either downtown los angeles. site of l.a. live and staples center. sports and entertainment capital of the world. some of the best basketball talent is on display this week. they're all playin expectations. which teams will rise together and show the spirit that is unbreakable. ♪ ♪ now, it's official.

we managed to make it through ♪ we're unbreakable ♪ ♪ we're unbreakable ♪ i'm holding on tightly ♪ so be unbreakable the pacific life pac-10 tournament excitement continues. number one seed cal takes on last night's winner, oregon, it's the drive to stay alive. on the victor can compete tomorrow. we're back here nal round of the

a good win for us. arizona has an outstanding team. i really like nic wise. they're very tough. it was a big win for us. hopefully, it gives us a chance to play for another day here. >> your philosophy on why the changing defenses in the second half really seemed to give arizona problems in the man and the zone. >> i think we have been playing too much zone and so we have gone back to playing more man in

the last couple of games. we still usesed the zone in the second half. it was good for us in the second half. we gave up a lot of second shots in that zone, too. i thought that reeves nelson was a big key for us tonight. he didn't play in the last four games. i was concerned about his conditioning. obviously, roll, a senior. we needed them to play well to win. >> you have had issues with injuries pretty much all season long. you get reeves nelson back. you touched it on a moment ago, he seems to change the complexion of your team when he's out there. he had 19 points and 10 rebounds. inside, he's such a force on the board. >> first of all, he's a real low-post scoring threat. he's strong. he can handle the bodies down there. he's 235 pounds.

he's really strong hands. hard to get the ball out of his hands. reeves's just scratching the surface of who's going to be in the future. he's has a chance to be a special player. >> what can you expect to see if you play oregon or cal? >> oregon's on a roll right now. they have won 3 of their last 4 games. porter was fantastic. their whole team is rallying around coach kent which is great to see and cal's the best team in our league. they won our conference. very, very well-coached. look at the stat that you put up on cal. they had 5500 points out of their seniors. the next closest team in the league was 2600 from the seniors. it's amazing how good those four

seniors are. >> congratulations on your win. we'll see you in the semifinal tomorrow. >> ben howland moving on to take on the winner of our next game. cal/oregon. oregon's trying to win their way into the ncaa tour. comiback witor o pac lif p tont. the rfindrup ge ces fe s ce

welcome back to the pacific life pac-10 tournament. quarterfinal action continues. tremendous basketball has already been played here in the first couple of games here at staples center. can we expect more in cal/oregon? we welcome you inside the arena here. staples center. getting you ready, set for our next game. the last several years, since the pac-10 pacific life pac-10 tournament has come back to life, no one has more success than ernie kent winning the tournament twice. but, a lot of people say this may be the last time that ernie kent gets a chance to win the fic ac-1tent. t dely howo his team fo tout?

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of da stan my ghtnow, ent i do. have a love for this game. i love the game of college basketball. >> you know, miles, so many coaches get into the profession because of that love of basketball. from your standpoint, what is about ernie kent, he gets his team ready for the pacific life peck pac-10 tournament. >> he lets them play. when he has great players, he doesn't hold them back. >> we have seen some runs into the elite eight, too. he nknows how to get his team primed for a tournament run. the pacific life pac-10 nametinum he at s cen what canell aboul ni richolin

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we're back at the pacific life pac-10 tournament. game two of our quadruple coverage. cal bears taking on the eighth-seeded oregon ducks. the ducks needed over time against washington state last night. today the bears won their first-regular championship since 1960. let's go to the big 12. kansas the number one team in the country, number one seed in this conference, taking on texas

tech. and the defense, stepping up today for the jayhawks. aldridge with three box, he also had 18 boards. this team has so many veterans. collins, 19 points, 6 assists. bill self and the jayhawks move on. into the big 12 tournament and they take on texas a&m. >> i love kansas's depth. collins, the morris brothers and henry give kansas that edge. let's go to big east. madison square garden. top-seeded syracuse. taking on georgetown. but the hoyas are trying to play for a higher seed in the ncaa tournament. monroe with the bucket there. wright with the lob to freeman. georgetown pulls the upset, 91-84. >> if he can't play in the tournament, it definitely hurts

syracuse on the inside. they still wesley johnson, big east player of the year. >> we've got some more action from here at staples r. ca movto t semi to na? eyat oto d . ever why e fr es b ♪

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randle that is, round him. we have christopher averaging 16 points per game. of course, randle and there's theo robertson. wait, there is more. we have boykin. over the last two weeks, he's been on fire, he's got six

double-doubles for the season. coach, i asked what has been the difference in his game? they said, it's definitely confidence. they're expecting a lot from him in this tourney run. >> rebecca, thank you very much. now, cal plays oregon. they have beaten oregon twice this year. by 22 points per game. oregon, with an emotional victory over washington state last night. >> the quick turnaround. but e.j. singler got them another day with the tip-in at the buzzer. we go into overtime. right off the bat, that juan porter off the jump ball and knock off the number one seed cal? >> let's look at the acura starting lineups for the ducks.

singler. jacob has lifted his game. he's a sophomore and armstead. and there's ernie kent. he's the all-time winningest coach in oregon history. with 235. tonight's pacific life -- our acura starting lineup for the california golden bears. jamal boykin a senior. there's mike montgomery. he had 590 and 20 this year. >> don: ernie kent loves this pacific life pac-10 tournament. his teams always seem to rise up. i would like to see where cal is emotionally. they're already in the ncaa

tournament. >> you and i were at the fitness center at the hotel earlier today. all of the golden bears were there as well, getting ready. kind of their walk-through as they got ready for this game. >> don: 2:30 or so tip. they were in there stretching. got a chance to talk to theo robertson. >> there's pac-10 player of the year jerome randle, scoring, he's within 30 of the all-time scoring mark. >> don: jerome randle, his ability to get to the rim at his size. 5'8". he's known for his three-point shooting. lot of time faking it. >> this is longmire. he's played well lately. he hooks it in. >> don: some academic things midway through the season. he closed the season with 17 and

10 against washington state in their regular-season finale. >> now, california with the victory in their last game on saturday, beating stanford. pushed their record to 20-9. 13-1. won the pac-10 by one game over arizona state. >> don: speaking of coming on, jamal boykin really coming on down the home stretch. >> singler with the fade-away. no. >> to finished that thought on boykin, doesn't get as much notoriety as the three amigos. >> a steal by randle. wow! >> don: jerome randle putting on a show. steps in the passing lane, around the back, reverse layup. giving the crowd a treat here early. >> that was special. and porter gets bumped. the foul will go to jamal

boykin. >> don: jerome randle has unlimited range on his jumpers. >> he's out of hales francis can high school. >> don: when randle gets off on this kind of start, oregon has to keep touch with him. >> don, that's a good point. we have seen some sensational games by randle. we have seen games where he's taken out early. emotionally gets to him. >> you know, i think it gets emotionally to the other team. we're going to take a look at

this three. the feet at the c." . it was close to 30 feet. six or seven feet beyond the nba line. >> nice play by omondi. the ducks fumble the basketball away. >> don: cal likes to play free and open. they like to get stops and down the court. they have enough skill players to beat you offensively if they can get it down the court. >> oregon has been playing better. they're 7-11 in the conference. they have won 3 of their last 4. including wins at ucla. >> the defense has been better for them. they wouldn't to a couple of different looks at zone midway through the year. >> porter with the long jump shot. randle and porter.

the dimunitive ones going at each other. >> don: on a tough one there. >> there's a jumper outside by theo robertson. if they get all three amigos go can t f et on january 21nd they wobr64-49. most car t-per i past or t im

there's one of our officials. our pacific life game matchup. >> don: who else? tajuan porter and jerome randle. off to an electrifying start. steps in the passer. behind the back. that's not an easy finish over the defender at his size, no less. nice play, jerome randle. >> e.j. singler out top. a fine assist man this year. singler for three. long. gets his own rebound. oregon sticking with it. they can't finish. and that time jeremy jacob, the sophomore, comes up empty.

>> don: you look or oar's aggressive on the offensive boards. they stayed with it. longmire stays with it. but where is cal on their defensive boards? >> last year, oregon was dead last in rebounding. this year, they moved up to fifth. he drops it down. >> don: randle, aggressive here early. once he gets it going, you mentioned it, steve, he's had games where he's not gotten off to a hot start. >> it goes -- we have a whistle and a foul. i thought it hit the end line. but it's a foul on the play. a hot start by the pac-10 player of the year, jerome randle. he hit from about -- we're saying, 28, from the "c" on stapnter bste one f ye d locrea soirrele w to tours lob

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>> steve: california with a six-point lead on oregon. jerome randle with ten points. >> don: started out with 28,

29-footer. actually started out at the rim first. jerome randle had an unbelievable senior year. let's take a listen how he found he was named pac-10 player of the year >> i was in class and coach montgomery called me. i'm like, wow, i must be in trouble or something like that.

ion.

today. we talked to mike montgomery about being confident coming into the tournament. >> well, overconfidence, i wouldn't put it in those terms. i would put it, we play best when our backs were to the wall. the guys knew that -- we kind of played that way and that's where we're at our best. >> steve: and they had that edge against arizona state. the pavilion was electric and they went crazy. 31-3, the last two years at home with mike montgomery as their

coach, cal. >> don: mike montgomery, you know, the turnaround at cal has been almost instant. they have had so much success at stanford. it looks like he's on his way to similar success at cal. >> steve: the wraparound, no. rebound michael dunigan. singler. he hits. >> don: nice job by porter, they're all paying attention to him, he shot it so much last night. the nice kick-out to singler, knocking it down. see, that two-three zone. they want to extend and trap

those wings. sometimes they do. they challenge shooters on the wings. >> steve: singler gets it inside. beautiful passing by the bears. >> don: great execution by cal. they get it to the free-throw line. easy layup. >> steve: longmire, no. fumbling it is michael dunigan into the hands of randle who almost throws it over. >> don: unlike them, too, because they're so good in transition. they spread the floor. that time, randle, takes a gamble. it doesn't pay off. >> steve: cal, 9 of 12 from the field. they still lead by 11. porter. got it! >> don: do you want to say it or me?

>> steve: he's still hot. >> don: there's your all-time three-point shooter. >> steve: singler has it. into the hands of tajuan porter. here's porter with the pull-up. long. longmire rebounding. what a shot by lekendric longmire. >> don: degree of difficulty for longmire, got it to fall. and oregon right back in it. porter makes a couple of shots and sparks his defense. >> steve: the dangerous thing for california, they're shooting 70% and they only lead by six. >> don: oregon withstood that initial surge. >> steve: getting to his offensive rebound has been key. le candidate rick has been able to make a marvelous move to the basket. to the pull the ducks to within of cnia.

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>> steve: welcome back to the pacific life pac-10 tournament. number one seed california leading number eight oregon. march 10th. 2006. we flash back to oregon and cal meeting in a semifinal game. he set a tournament record with 41 points in 47 minutes. he was 14 of 17 from the field. and 13 of 18 from the line. his effort helped propel the bears to the title game against eventual championship, ucla. powe was named pac-10 tournament mvp for scoring 80 points in three games. that was three shy of the all-time best. how about 41 points in one game? that was just two more than reggie miller had against arizona state in 1987 and reggie had the tournament record for

most points. >> don: i was at that tournament. leon powe, nobody could stop him. nobody really doubled him, either, the defenders were at the mercy of him and had a monster tournament. >> steve: he has a chance. he's halfway there. he has 38 points in 1 1/2 games. >> don: he would have to come back from three games. >> steve: jerome randle stays hot. >> don: another one for jerome randle from way downtown. >> steve: he's 5 for 5. don't touch that screen, fans. it's on fire. here's dunigan on the foul. against sanders-frison. >> don: oregon's shooting 35% and they're only down nine. cal is shooting 75% and they're only up nine. the extra possessions that

oregon has gotten on that offensive boards, six of them so far are keeping them in it. >> steve: michael dunigan, a sophomore from chicago farragut. he was 280 pounds. they got him down to 242. >> don: he's quite an interesting year, did dunigan, pac-10 conference player of the week in january. it looked like he was heading for the great pac-10 season right out of the gates. he kind of flattened out. >> steve: i have never seen that done on a free-throw attempt. where it got stuck between the rim and the backboard. >> don: not like he missed it that badly. just kind of bounced the wrong way and got stuck. it wasn't that bad. >> steve: too much stick' em.

we have a whistle and a foul. there's the man, max zhang, the sophomore from china. he has not played recently because of a partially collapsed lu lung. >> don: tallest player in cal history. good sign for oregon. dunigan active here early. in the back half of the conference season, just not getting it done. not being productive enough. catch and score. get to the offensive rebounding. it looks like he's playing with some energy here early. >> steve: dunigan makes the first. he's just a 61% foul shooter. >> don: not a bad-looking

shooter, either. more of a confidence issue. not bad up top. and something that he can improve on in the offseason. >> steve: ernie kent credits his mom, she was a great leader in his life. zhang grabs the rebound. gutierrez also in the game. christopher missed the last one, i'll make this one. he's got nine. >> don: cal, it's free, it's open. everybody's got the green light. the way basketball used to be. you passed it, you dribble it and you score it. >> steve: porter misses badly. rebounding, patrick christopher. there's a rebound by singler. on the cal miss.

>> steve: randle, good defense. keeping them in front. from the corner, this is humphr humphrey. he's also from chicago, illinois. hales high school. >> don: he's made timely threes. and oregon staying in touch. i keep saying that. he got them at 7. cal so so explosive, they can get away from you quickly. >> steve: no one continue making the threes like cal has early in this game. humphrey cannot score. gutierrez pulls it down. and throws it away. does cal have to look to get into the gaps of that zone? >> don: i think so. you want to suck those wings in and then kick out. then, going back to that last possession, if oregon is going to rise up and win this, humphrey has to make the right

decisions. >> steve: christopher gets it ahead to gutierrez. lays it up with the left hand. perfect. they missed him badly. he's an excellent defender. >> don: not for that reason. they don't need him to score. they like his toughness. he guards, he rebounds. a bonus for them. >> steve: the outlet to gutierrez. takes on porter and gets knocked down by porter.

knocked off arizona. as reeves nelson had 19 points and 10 rebounds. >> don: two good games later on tonight. looking forward to arizona state/stanford. and washington state. the other two teams playing free and open. they got to win the whole thing to get to the ncaa tournament. that's what makes this pacific life pac-10 tournament every year. the unexpected seems to happen a lot. >> don: cal's last title was 1960, when pete newell led his

team to a 28-2 record and ended up runner-up for the national title. >> don: first regular-season title in 50 years? >> steve: jason kidd and kevin johnson. >> don: that's kind of why i say that. they have had good players. >> steve: it goes out of bounds. oregon staying in it. they're only down by eight. debt spite the outstanding shooting by oregon early. e're tingina.

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welcome back to staples center. getting ready for you the acura halftime report. a bubble team can affect the

pac-10 getting more teams in the tournament. cal is red-hot from deep. >> jerome randle, pac ten player of the year, getting it done early. if i'm ernie kent, i'm glad guys didn't recognize him. >> as a team they're shooting 7 of 9 from three-point range. >> steve: when one of your star shoots from 28 feet out, how do you defend that? >> don: you run out to him and that makes theo robertson open. that's why cal is so good. you can't hedge to one guy, because the other guys will really hurt you. off to a great start, 7-9. if i'm ernie kent, i'm saying you know, i'm disappointed we're letting get these threes off. i'm only down eight points. i'm okay with that. >> steve: one advantage oregon has, outside of washington,

oregon might be the second deepest team in the tournament. i mean, and that's going to be very important, if they do get to the championship game. they'll have to play four games in four days. >> don: we talked about that last night. he used 18 different lineups heading into last night game. the bonus of that, they have 1 1 players that average 16 minutes a game or more. if you have to go deep into that bench, you're not pulling someone off there. it's someone who played meaningful minutes throughout the season. >> steve: randle has had a great start. jerome roondle is the top foul shooter in the conference at 93% and fourth in the nation. second in the nation -- check that. he's got 15 first-half points. >> don: what a luxury for mike montgomery in late-game situations.

>> steve: dunigan misses badly. but there was a shove by an oregon duck. a foul called. it goes against williams, his first. it can. >> don: oregon's trying to scramble the game a little bit. sometimes they drop back into that zone. or more often than not, they drop back into the zone sometimes back into man. >> steve: randle fakes he's going to shoot. then floats inside. he's got 17. >> don: you like the individual balance of jerome randle's game. >> steve: how about that? getting to the rim. big number 32, teondre williams. he drops it home. >> don: take a look at williams. teondre williams runs out. then the little tear drop at the end. that's what makes guys hard to

guard. if you're a good three-point shooter, you go alt him. >> steve: his career-high 39. did that against washington state. when he hit seven three-pointers. gutierrez and randle in the backcourt. sanders fris on and christopher on the front end. >> steve: oh my goodness. >> don: we'll have to go to the replay to see where that was from. >> steve: how about this? he got 20 and we still 6:30 left in the first half. >> don: porter's probably over there, i thought i was the guy who shot them from that deep. >> steve: armstead moves over defensively on jerome.

he's got that look in his eye. >> don: set a ball screen on him right now. >> steve: he's standing on the c and he took a shot from there. gutierrez, long. >> don: good rebound by dunigan. >> steve: and a foul called. out's a block on gutierrez. >> don: let's do to the randle o meter here. but dialing it up from distance. >> steve: from the at a" of pacific life. >> don: he even knows that one deep. but, if you can make it, and i'm